Azernews.Az

This week`s scheduled visit by OSCE mediators negotiating a settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict has been postponed.
The postponement is due to the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairs from the United States, Russia and France being unable to coordinate their schedules, Russian co-chair Yuri Merzlyakov told a Baku-based TV channel, adding that it is not known when the next visit will occur.
Merzlyakov said his French counterpart, Bernard Fassier, was planning to pay a separate visit to the region, but it has also been postponed.
"I can only say for certain that our visit is not expected until the end of this month. We have not discussed when we will visit the region either, as the co-chairs are currently discussing other issues regarding Upper Garabagh," Merzlyakov added.
The MG co-chairs, who have slowed down the peace process due to Azerbaijan`s October 15 presidential elections, now intend to step up efforts at finding a solution to the conflict, analysts say. Matthew Bryza, the US MG co-chair, said the United States was making an effort to strike an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan that would suit both sides, support Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and reflect "additional international principles."
Bryza, Deputy Assistant US Secretary of State, noted that the intermediaries` upcoming visit would be their first meeting in the region since the presidential elections held in Azerbaijan on October 15.
"The negotiating process had been suspended over the conduct of elections, but now the co-chairs intend to resume hard work," he added.